Discover 3 Innovative Small Business Advertising Strategies

posted by Chris Valentine

Business cards? Brochures? Flyers? If this were the 1990s, these would be considered innovative small business marketing strategies. But these days, they are definitely not on the leading edge. This is not to say that they are obsolete — because you still may need them in your marketplace. But it does mean that if you want your business to make a powerful and lasting impact on today’s sophisticated customers, then you are going to need a different – and altogether more contemporary – marketing toolbox. Here are three innovative suggestions to point you in the right direction:

Vehicle Wraps

Vehicle wraps are low cost, high impact ways to get your business noticed – but for a fraction of the cost of other kinds of marketing and advertising tactics, such as billboard, radio and TV spots, and so on. You can even have QR code integrated with your vehicle wraps, so that prospective customers can connect simply by scanning their smartphone.

Online Advertising Retargeting

Retargeting is an online advertising tactic in which specific prospects receive targeted ads based on previous encounters and behaviors. For example, let’s say that you sell laptop computers, and a prospect visits your “gaming laptops” page. At a specified time period (e.g. the next day, a week later, etc.), you can try and re-target this prospect through your online ad network (e.g. Google, Facebook, etc.) with a message that urges them to discover your latest and greatest gaming laptop, take advantage of a limited-time sale, and so on.

Geo-Fencing and Geo-Targeting

Geo-fencing lets you send targeted text messages to prospective customers when they enter a pre-set geographic area; for example, when they are within 30 feet of your store, or even if they are near an ad (e.g. “That orange poster just up ahead on your left has a special message — read it and click here for a nice surprise!”). Geo-targeting lets you send targeted messages to prospective customers who are in a pre-set geographic area. For example, you can reach out to all customers within a city who have purchased at least $100 in the last six months.

The Bottom Line

Standing out in a competitive marketplace is not easy. But it does not need to be risky, daunting or cost prohibitive, either. Use the above innovative small business advertising strategies to ensure that you get noticed by today’s sophisticated customers –but without exceeding your budget.